Brought together
by evil yokai
Summary: What if Sesshomaru has an older brother? What if he's stronger and determined to eradicate his younger brother? What if he knows not of Inuyasha's existence? What if Kagome only can match his strength? And what is this strange new Jewel Kagome can sense? She will plunge into the world of demonic aristocracy in order to prove her strength!
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER I - Attacked!

A shadow sped at inhuman speed through the forest, dodging the trees, not slowing down for anything in the world. A glimpse of white could only be seen to human eyes but demons could distinguish the form of another demon. Yet, no one dared to attack said demon, first because of his immensely powerful aura and second because of the event more ominous aura following him. A fight between demons of a specie no demon in his right mind would even dare challenge or even stay within the range. And so, as the figure speed through the forest, demons flew away from the two felt presences as fast as they could.

The white clothed demon brought his speed to a whole new level totally invisible to the human eye. He scanned the area thinking of some exit and feeling the trap tighten around him. He could not go any further south for he would end up in Inuyasha's forest yet he could not go back either. Fighting that beast was not possible for him at this point, not with a severed arm. Blood was pooling out of his chest – where the armour had been totally destroyed – and it was now running down his legs and staining his haori and hakamas. He could fight Naraku or any other stronger foe that would present in front of him but even a strong demon like himself could figure out that he was totally overpowered. His eyes narrowed as he registered that he was yet again traveling toward Inuyasha's forest. He mentally cursed but his lack of concentration almost got him killed as he was barely hit by a giant claw. Said claw was attached to a huge paw itself attached to a huge silver inuyokai. A fierce growl thundered through the forest as red eyes scanned the area in search of its prey. The beast dashed again in the direction he could smell the blood.

* * *

"SIT" a scream echoed in Inuyasha's forest, in a small village near the well. "I'm through with your attitude Inuyasha!" another scream followed seemingly from the same woman. Kagome stomped off from the camp her cheeks flaming with anger and embarrassment.

"WHAT AGAIN?" a loud yell came out of the huge crater made by the hanyou named Inuyasha.

"Oh, are you so dense, Inuyasha, that you can't figure out what's wrong?" Kagome replied, spinning on her heels to look at him. Before he could speak up any obscenities again, she sat him. "We've destroyed Naraku, the Jewel was completed and destroyed and we dealt with the major problems concerning your enemies and the quest we've started. Yet, you treat me like I'm some domestic of yours!" She sat him for a third time seeing he was about to make a reply. "You keep it shut for now Inuyasha. I've had it with you. Treat me properly, that's all I ask from you. I did my job here in Feudal era so why do you believe I would abandon my family and life in modern era to stay here?"

"Because you have to!" Inuyasha answered from his hole, sitting leg crossed.

"I don't have to stay here. I told you already, my job has been done." Kagome paused and took a deep breath. She was diving right in the subject, she was aware of it. She needed to do this or they would never move forward as a couple… or as friends. They were stuck in-between both, unsure about Inuyasha's feeling about the newly resurrected Kikyo – what was it, her third time now? Can't the dead stay dead in this freaking era? – and his wish for a new life with Kagome. "I've stayed here because of my feelings for you Inuyasha."

The hanyou was dumbstruck. He didn't say anything, lowered his head and muttered something which got Kagome even more pissed. "It's not like we're a couple or anything…"

"Never mind!" she yet again started yelling. "I'm going in the forest for a walk. Don't follow me or I'll sit you all the way through the seven floors of hell." She stomped, taking her backpack with her. "Sango I'm going for a bath alone, please don't let the lecher wander around please." She then muttered to her friend "Sorry you had to hear that."

"It's ok Kagome, it had to be done. I'll watch your back take your time." Sango replied, never stopping cleaning her weapon. She made eye contact with the young priestess and saw the tears threatening to fall. Kagome definitely needed some time to herself. She knew her friend well, the priestess wasn't one to open up about her problems but would rather be alone and meditate and come back when she was calmer to talk about it. She would let Kagome all the time she needed before starting on the subject with her.

"Why, lady Kagome, you don't trust me…?" he didn't finish his sentence that he was silenced with a glare from the taijiya. He gulped and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It seems not"

"Kagome?" Shippo called. "Can I come with you?" Kagome put a hand on his head and shook her head slowly. The little fox demon completely understood his mother's wishes to be left alone. Kagome then dashed away in the forest and toward the nearest hot spring which was around a mile away. It was quite far, but she knew she would enjoy the bath quite nicely.

She headed there with her huge yellow backpack full of futuristic stuff. She didn't bring her bows and arrows around, she didn't expect to use them and she had recently been using a much more convenient weapon. She had learned quite a lot since she first came in an ignorant girl 5 years ago. She had the increasing abilities of a full-fledged priestess, able to create barriers impenetrable by demons and using her abilities differently than just purifying arrows. That was just growing old and the bow was not such a convenient weapon for close range battle.

Kagome walked some more. She turned her head sharply when she felt two ominous presences at the far end of the forest but didn't really focus on it. The forest was hundreds of kilometers wide; they would probably not come this way. She could tell the presences were heading for the other side, trying to exit the forest. Demons knew better than come in. It bothered her a little bit that such strong auras could come so close; she had never seen such powerful demons so near. She brushed the thoughts away though, focusing on her current feelings. What was it that had made her blurt out the subject so carelessly? They had had another fight, Inuyasha and her, about some stupid stuff she didn't even remember. Was she growing tired of Inuyasha? Kagome shook her head. In a certain way, after 5 years in feudal era having a crush on the hanyou it was kind of understandable, wasn't it? Then why wasn't she sad? Why did she feel more – how would she put it? – resigned? Perhaps she had known it all along. Perhaps she had known that it would never work out between the two of them. Sango and Miroku had long ago admitted their feelings while Inuyasha and she were still stuck at the point where the hanyou had to choose between the two priestesses. This was definitely growing old. She had just made the decision for him, apparently. A tear prickled at the corner of her eye and she let it run on her soft cheek.

After half an hour of walking, she finally managed to the hot spring and squealed in delight. She quickly dropped her things, grabbed her two-pieces bathing suit – she wasn't stupid enough to bath naked where she could be snuck upon by some perverted yokai or human – and soap, changed behind a bush and quickly dipped her feet in the hot water. She sighed in relief and emerged her entire body up to the neck.

* * *

Inuyasha huffed. She was damn wrong if she though he was not treating her properly! He was! He had let her bath to her heart content all the while she had been in Feudal Era, which was more than necessary. She wanted to bath every day or every two days! What was it with her obsession? People only bathed once in a while here, she should have adapted! He huffed again, gaining the attention of the taijiya who sent him a dirty glare before resuming the cleaning of her weapon. 'Just great, she is mad at me too. Damn female solidarity.' He mentally cursed. Miroku was doing his best to ignore him which led him to think that the lecher had sided with the girls too. Shippo, of course, had sided with his newly adopted mother Kagome. It was no surprise. And so Inuyasha was all alone in his mind cursing about his lack of luck with females. He had not made his mind yet, and Kagome was getting even more and more pressing, nagging about him doing it and forgetting about the dead priestess. It bothered him to no end because Kikyo was his first love. He would never forget her. On the other hand, he liked Kagome too. She was kind – at times –, caring and was there for him at crucial moments. She had never shown any open jealousy about Inuyasha's old love but instead had provided a shoulder to cry. He was definitely confused. Would he break his promise to Kikyo for Kagome? He wasn't sure. He didn't want to decide. Yet as more time passed, Kagome seemed to be slipping out of his grasp. She was young and beautiful, it would not take long before she would grow tired of waiting and seek attention elsewhere. He was lost in his thoughts when he saw something flickering in the sky. He immediately recognized whose those were as he dashed in the forest to seek the person. He put to the back of his mind the ominous presences he could feel a few hundred kilometers away.

From their seats near the camp fire, Miroku and Sango made eye contact and simultaneously sighed. They both gazed to the sky too, noticing the eerie show in the night. "Those are Kikyo's soul stealers, right?" Shippo asked, also looking at the sky. Both grown-ups nodded absently.

Kilala raised her head, and sniffed around. Her eyes adverted in the direction of the fight, and she mewed. Sango immediately put a hand on her head and patted her gently. It soothed the cat demon. They were unaware of the things happening as Shippo's senses were still those of a mere child and even though Miroku was a good priest, there was a limit to yokai detection senses.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER II

Kagome untied her hair and let the heavy mass dip in the water. Her hair had grown quite a bit since she had been in Feudal era and she didn't take the time to cut them. She usually tied them up in a tight bun or a ponytail so they would not be in the way when she worked or trained. She wasn't sure about cutting them. In Feudal Era women had long hair and she had always admired them. Such beautiful sight they were, those ladies. Kagome knew she was no such thing though. She trained to fight, and destroyed demons. Long hair only ought to be in the way, right? She brushed them slowly with her finger and smiled. Inuyasha had admitted once that he liked her hair long. Then she frowned. Was it because she resembled more Kikyo? Shaking her head she told herself that it was not the time to think about it. She grabbed shampoo and conditioner and began pouring them on her head, once at a time, taking the time to scrub her scalp with the shampoo and rinse before putting on the conditioner. How good that felt! She again brushed her hair with her hand in slow motions to remove as much of the knots as she could, all the while feeling comfort in the mechanical movement of her hands.

During the length of her stay in Feudal Era, she had learned a lot about the mikos and their powers. The fight with Naraku had only been the beginning of her discovery of her aptitudes. She had then traveled to meet the greatest mikos of this time and had learned how to combat in close range with one of the best swordswoman – men were totally against the idea of teaching her -, and learned more about the power of mikos. She had seen so many different mikos in the past 3 years that she had come to the conclusion that a priestess' powers were not something intangible that needed to be infused in a weapon. Priestess powers are the weapon! So barriers, spell detection, combat and new weapons were at her disposition. She was not as she used to be, a mere little girl afraid of her own shadow. Yet she never had the chance to really use them as of now. Indeed a few demons attacked but usually they didn't really pose a threat. She stopped her movements. 'Am I bored?' She blinked a few times. She definitely seemed to be missing the old times with the battles fought. This strange idea did earn a soft chuckle coming from the priestess as she resumed the brushing of her hair, her hands moving expertly across the locks. "So I am bored…" she muttered to herself.

The smile her face adorned was replaced by a frown as she stopped again her movement and turned toward the north. These presences she had sensed earlier were a mere few miles away and dashing straight in her direction! How could she have missed them? She was lost in her thoughts but not that much! She didn't have time to make any move as something crashed with force straight in the hot spring, earning a cry from the priestess who merely had time to summon a barrier to prevent being crushed by a huge silver inuyokai. Kagome blinked a few times in disbelief as she looked at the form. She was nose-to-nose with a 60 feet tall dog demon whose head had banged on the barrier. "Huh?" She asked dumfounded. "I know that demon, right?" Indeed, only one look was enough to revive the memories of the great Sesshomaru in all his glory. The presence of those deformed magenta stripes and the blue crescent moon on his forehead were proof enough. Said demon was now unconscious, blood pooling in the hot spring giving it a red tinge. In fact, it was more than a mere tinge, Kagome noticed. I was more like the hot spring was turning bloody red. She didn't have time to wonder more on the colour of the water because another huge dog demon entered the clearing, claws out, leashing at Sesshomaru. The new silver inu could not finish his attack though as he smashed into Kagome's barrier. She had surrounded both herself and Sesshomaru in his dog form with the pink purifying power. The silver inu landed a few feet further and growled.

Kagome stepped from behind the unconscious Sesshomaru to face the other demon. 'Why am I getting involved anyway?' she mentally sighed. 'Must be because I am bored…' She mentally smirked at her lack of logic. "I hate being disturbed during my bath, especially by two overgrown dogs!" She yelled at the silver inu, thanking the lords for not being naked. She was, though, not very much dressed in her black Bikini. 'Too undressed for people in this Era' she mused. She was answered by a feral growl as the dog dashed toward her and slashed at her, claws extended. It met yet again with the pink barrier. "A demon such as yourself will never be able to get through my barrier, idiot." It looked at its fuming paw then back to the priestess and barked. Kagome sighed. "This is a one-sided discussion. I don't speak dog language."

Kagome attention was brought to the creature behind her. Sesshomaru had moved and his eyes were open, looking at her intently. Kagome turned toward him and smiled. "Could you please revert to your other form? It's really hard to maintain a strong barrier around you." She was surprised that said dog nodded and transformed back, his body glowing as it shrinked back to a more humanoid form. Kagome let her barrier retract to surround only the two of them. It was already easier to maintain. When the light around the demon's body finally vanished, he was barely standing in the water, his sole arm folded against his chest where he was badly hurt. "Wow!" Kagome exclaimed upon seeing this mess. "You've sure had it!"

Sesshomaru turned sharply his head in her direction, his eyes screaming bloody murder for the insult. "What are you doing here, human?" he growled all the while fighting to keep his balance in the water that was up to his knees.

Kagome pouted. "As you can see I was taking a bath." She replied, explaining her state of almost-nakedness. "If you would allow me, I will be involved in this fight." She grinned, turning her head toward the growling inu demon.

Sesshomaru blinked at her. He knew this human. Where had he met her before? Then it struck him. She was Inuyasha's priestess! He went so close to Inuyasha's forest? He registered her request and nodded. Could she really maintain that barrier? Impossible. Inuryomaru was no simple demon. She was totally unaware of what she was getting into. Yet, he would take advantage of any time she could buy him.

"Human" A deep masculine voice called in the clearing. Kagome switched her attention from Sesshomaru to the other demon, now in humanoid form too. She was taken by his beauty but what struck her the most was the resemblance with Sesshomaru. Before she could ask him about it, she was called again by the man/demon. "Human, I suggest you do not interfere in this battle. Leave now and I might consider letting you live." He approached both the demon and the priestess, gauging her. He had silver hair fanning behind him, adorned a black crescent moon and wore black haori and hakamas. His eyes were golden but with a different tinge into them and a single royal blue stripe adorned each of his cheek. 'A beauty for sore eyes, Kagome thought, just like Sesshomaru.'

Kagome grinned at the demon. "Sorry, but I can't do that."

"What is your connection to my brother?" he inquired, narrowing his eyes.

So they were brothers! Sesshomaru did seem to have problem with his family members, starting with Inuyasha. "Connections?" She thought for a second. "I think the only connection we have is that he's tried to kill me once… and almost succeeded." She shot a menacing glare at Sesshomaru who simply ignored her.

"Then why protect that demon who tried to kill you?" He marched toward her and stopped when he was at arm's length with the pink barrier.

"I choose whomever I want to protect, demon, I do not owe you any explanation." Truth was that she didn't know. Was she so bored that she was ready to put her life on the line for that heartless bastard that had tried to kill both her and Inuyasha? 'Oh well…' she thought. It was too late to back down now.

"I see." He raised his right arm in the air and let some green poison seep around his fingers. Faster that what Kagome's sense could perceive, he struck the barrier with enormous strength. Sparkles flew around him and lightening was created where the two powers collided. Yet, when Inuryomaru removed his hand, the barrier was still intact and his hand fuming. He looked at his hand then back at the priestess. "How can you create such a strong barrier? You are but a mere human."

"I am not a mere human as you call it, I am the Shikon priestess." Kagome replied ticked off.

"This is the same to me." He moved his hand to his sash where Kagome noticed a sword. He drew it. An enormous gush of evil energy flew toward her and Sesshomaru who remained silent at her side, trying to remain conscious with the massive amount of blood he was losing. Raising his sword in the air, he forcefully hit the barrier and unleashed an attack of black energy that she heard him call "Black Murder". The attack was, in fact, murderous and black. Kagome's barrier didn't even waver though and the inu demon noticed it. Infuriated, he raised his sword again and unleashed the Black Murder. Again, Kagome's barrier didn't even have a scratch.

"Demon" Kagome called. "I do not wish to be standing in the middle of the remains of this hot spring in nothing more than my bathing suit. So now if you would excuse me, I will have to take the offensive." Without waiting for an answer, Kagome joined her hands together and before the bewildered eyes of both demons, she concentrated her priestess powers - while still keeping the barrier in place – and separated them slowly, creating a beautifully crafted white katana. She held it in front of her and summoned her attack. She swung the sword with all her strength and created a wave of white purifying power that traveled through the clearing with incredible speed and amazing destructive power, hitting the demon she was aiming. Placing his own katana in front of him he tried to block it but was cut in the process. His right arm bled as he howled in pain. "Nothing is more painful for a demon than being struck by a priestess' attack. The level of pain is on a whole different scale." Inuryomaru grabbed his right arm with his left arm and hissed in pain. "Here I go again!" Kagome called as she unleashed another wave. This time, the dog demon dodged and escaped in the forest.

When she was sure that he was far enough, she dropped the barrier and plumped on the ground, her butt in the muddy water. Her katana vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed in the first place. She was exhausted. She had not shown it during this short battle but his attack where clearly different from what she had fought before. She tried to catch her breath after so much effort all the while making eye contact with the bewildered inu barely standing in the middle of what was left of the hot spring. She smiled at him. "Looks like we survived." He didn't answer her as he promptly plumped on the ground beside her but still at a safe distance. "Don't worry, I don't eat demons." She joked, still smiling at him. He didn't answer. His head was light and he felt dizzy. His wounds were clearly not healing fast enough. Kagome approached him on her knees and grabbed his right hand. He narrowed his eyes at the offending human who gulped. Sesshomaru was probably wounded, but he was nonetheless scary. "Listen, I will now use the last of my powers to heal your wounds. I would like you to do one thing for me. Please protect me until I regain consciousness."

Sesshomaru looked at her still holding his right hand. "You can heal me completely, miko?"

"Yes, I can." She replied. You could hear the exhaustion in her voice.

"And the poison inside my wounds?" He inquired. There was no doubt that Inuryomaru had used his poisonous claws when he had inflicted the wounds.

"I believe I can heal that too."

"Then do it" He watched as she placed the back of his hand on her forehead and muttered some strange words he could not comprehend. He saw a blue light enter his arm and wash over his body, slowly closing the wounds and fighting off the poison running inside his veins and affecting his system. She let go of his hand when she was finished.

"I have completely healed you."

"Indeed. I shall now watch over you until you awaken."

"Thank you" she replied and closed her eyes. "I believe you." And promptly fainted of exhaustion

Sesshomaru quickly got himself and her out of the water and settled her on the ground. With one sniff he found her intact stuff and rummaged through it until he found a blanket. He covered her with it and sat not too far away. He couldn't believe how strong she was. No one had made Inuryomaru back away before, not even himself. 'Why decide to side with this Sesshomaru?' She could have escaped from the very beginning. He eyed her warily. "Such a strange human…" he muttered in the full moon night.

* * *

Second chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER III

"Why you bastard, don't you even dare tell me to back off!"

Kagome awakened with the sound of the yelling hanyou. He was probably throwing a fit about Shippo's tricks, right? Yes, they always bickered early in the morning, depriving Kagome with her much needed rest. Then again, her muscles ached. Where was she last night to be so sore? She remembered walking toward the hot spring and taking a bath. Then something had crashed into the water… It clicked. "Sesshomaru!" She sat up quickly, earning her a major drop of blood pressure and a sensation of fainting. She grabbed her head in her hands and waited until the black spots faded away which didn't take more than a few seconds.

"Why the hell do you scream his name when waking up, wench?!"

"Sit, Inuyasha" She needed time to think this through. She was with Sesshomaru last night, right? She had fought back his brother and healed his wounds. Why was Inuyasha here then?

"Don't you sit me wench! We were all worried about you and came to get you and there you are with my bastard half-brother! I want an explanation!"

There she had her answer. She rubbed her temples trying to get the information to get in. "You weren't worried Inuyasha, you were with Kikyo last night." She simply stated. "Miroku, Sango and Shippo were the ones worrying."

Inuyasha stood there with his mouth opened. "How did you know?"

"I simply guessed. It seems I was right." She simply stated. She rose from her place and noticed the blanket covering her body. Had Sesshomaru covered her? She wrapped it around her shoulder.

"You are so predictably pathetic, little brother." A cold reply came from afar. Kagome focused her attention on the Inu yokai lazily resting on the lowest branch of a tree, one leg hanging from it. Before Inuyasha could respond to the insult, he focused on Kagome. "Miko, I have respected my engagement. I shall now take my leave."

"You may. Thank you." She didn't receive an answer and didn't really expect one. She brought her attention to the cursing half-demon, feeling that her time of boredom had started again. She was yet again stuck with that idiot Inuyasha who still couldn't figure out which of the two priestesses he loved. She had enjoyed her fight last night. She had loved the feeling of being strong, of being useful to someone. Most of the time, Inuyasha would just shove her out of the battlefield, telling her to be 'out of the way'. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" she asked before he disappeared in the forest. She knew he had heard her.

"You may, miko."

Kagome quickly put on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt over her bathing suit she was still wearing and scrammed after him under the bewildered eyes of the hanyou. "Hey! Where do you think you are going?" he called after her trying to catch her arm to stop her. He was soon eating dirt.

"If you even consider following I will S-I-T you so badly you will have never felt pain like such." She threatened him. "Now return to the village, I will be on my way. And tell the others I am fine."

"Like hell you'll order me around!"

"Inuyasha…"

"Feh! I'll go! Just go get yourself killed by the bastard for all I care!" he stormed off in the forest and toward Kaede's village.

Kagome knew he didn't mean what he just said and was just angry but she was still hurt by those words. She pushed the thoughts aside as she skipped after the taiyokai. "I will sound blunt, lord Sesshomaru, but I must ask." She noticed he was paying attention to her from the corner of his eyes. "I want to travel with you."

Sesshomaru was indeed taken aback from the blunt question. She wanted to travel with him? Was she suicidal? "I disagree, miko." He answered though he was more interested in the request than he let her know.

"I knew you'd say that." She sighed. "I am bored of traveling with Inuyasha. I found a greater challenge in fighting your brother. I believe I can be useful to you." She mentioned, somewhat pushing her luck. She knew better than to argue with the demon lord.

"Useful?" he inquired, raising a brow as he came to a stop.

"Yes, I can create barriers to defend and I can fight somewhat not so badly…"

"I refused. I will no encumber myself with a human." Then he thought about it. She could heal right? Then why not regrow his arm? She was also pretty strong to be able to stand against Inuryomaru, his wretched older half-brother. He thought about it for a second. "Human, I am willing to take you with me under one condition."

Kagome was taken aback from the sudden change of mind. He was thinking about something, right? What could it be? "What is this condition?"

"Regrow my left arm" he brought his full attention to her and saw her astonishment.

Kagome was taken aback by the request. She wasn't really expecting this. She thought maybe demons had special abilities to regrow body parts… She then smiled. "You have yourself a deal, though I cannot regrow it right now. I must recover completely my powers before I can do something so demanding."

"That is quite fine with me." He started walking away but she didn't follow.

"I need to put some things in order back with my friends. Can we meet tonight?" she asked his retreating form. She heard an "hn" which she interpreted as a yes. He would come she knew. He needed her to regrow his arm. Happy about the new adventure, she skipped back to camp.

* * *

"Kagome!" A grown up fox kit jumped in her arms as she entered the village. Kagome lost her stance and fell backward on her butt with an approximately 10 years old looking kit smiling brightly at her. "Where were you yesterday?" he asked. "Sango and Miroku were so anxious. They thought you had been attacked."

Kagome laughed. "If they only knew what happened to me! I just had the fight of my life!" She laughed again.

"You were attacked?" Shippo asked, horrified. "Mommy, are you alright? Are you wounded?"

"Do not worry Shippo. I could defend myself pretty well." She replied. 'Even better than Sesshomaru' she thought to herself but reminded herself not to ever say that in front of the demon - it would probably be the last thing she would do. She wondered for a second if she should ask Inuyasha if he knew about Sesshomaru's older brother. Yet, she decided not to start on the subject. She wasn't sure if Inuyasha was indeed aware of the presence of that elder inu or not. Besides, the hanyou was definitely pissed off at her for sending him back. He was cursing from a nearby tree about her and his brother having an affair. 'Yeah, right' Kagome thought. 'As if that would ever happen' She rolled her eyes. Sesshomaru was far too frigid for her sake.

"Kagome!" Someone called from afar. The taijiya came her way, fully dressed in her fighting garbs and her Hiraikotsu on her back. "Where were you? I thought you only went for a bath! What took you so long?" Said taijiya was followed by the monk.

"I was attacked at the hot spring but fought the demon off." Kagome grinned. "Why are you in fighting garbs? Where you attacked?"

"We were looking for you! We thought you were attacked and wounded." She paused before the priestess, out of breath. Kilala quickly jumped on her shoulder and rested there.

"As you can see I am fine." Kagome picked herself up from the ground where her grown up kit had tripped her. "I, in fact, came to announce you that I'll be going on a new journey!" She smiled.

"A new journey? What are you talking about? The Jewel didn't reappear, right?" Sango asked, worried.

"Nothing like that, I'm simply going to give a hand to fight off a demon." Kagome precised. She didn't want to reveal too much, she wasn't sure if it was safe for her friend to be made aware of the presence of another older brother of Inuyasha.

"We are coming with you." Sango decided, ready to fight off any evil demon.

"Unfortunately Sango, this time I have to go alone. I can't bring you all with me." She looked down at her kit and smiled. "Shippo may come though." She ruffled his hair in a motherly fashion which earned her a growl of protestation from the grown up fox demon.

"Why is that?" Sango asked, surprised by such an initiative.

"Because she wants to be left alone with bastard half-brother to get all close with him" Inuyasha replied, pissed off, from the nearby tree. Sango and Miroku turned surprised eyes toward Kagome who blushed.

"Come on, there's nothing between Inuyasha's brother and I. I'll just be helping out in his fight, that's all. I feel useless here." Kagome explained sheepishly.

"Feh, listen you ain't going anywhere with that bastard!" Inuyasha yelled from a tree.

Kagome replied with even more force. "Listen Inuyasha, you have nothing to say in this so just sit back and shut it. Why don't you go see your clay pot for all I care?"

"Don't you call Kikyo like that!" He yelled from his hole.

"Sit! I call her whatever I want. She tried to kill me numerous times after all so between you and I she is even more dangerous that Sesshomaru!" No answer.

"Are you sure about this Kagome?" Sango asked, worried.

"Yes, it's about time I fly with my own wings." Kagome smiled at them.

Sango smiled back. "I understand Kagome." She placed her hand on her friend's shoulder and sighed. "I hoped that time would never come. I wish you to find happiness Kagome. Please do not forget that we are your friends and that we will always be there to help you. You can come and see us for anything." Miroku nodded at the comment.

"I knew you would understand. Thank you everyone." She scratched Kilala's ears and hugged her friends.

Inuyasha remained in his tree, huffing and puffing about her stupidity. Yet he couldn't help but feel he was definitely losing her. What is really what she wanted? She would be away from him. Didn't she love him? With a sense of betrayal, he dashed in the forest under the disapproving glare of his friends.

* * *

'Why do I encumber myself with that human?' Sesshomaru thought to himself as he patiently waited for her at the exit of Kaede's village. He caught himself admiring her strength and courage for standing up to his older brother and quickly pushed the thoughts away. 'I do not admire humans. They are filthy and greedy creatures.' Yet he couldn't help but think that they weren't all like that. Rin was sweet and kind. The priestess was pure of mind… and perhaps pure of body? He mentally slapped himself. What the hell was he thinking about? She withheld many values that he found honourable. He told himself he'd rather commit suicide than admit it to her, though.

He extended his senses and spotted the priestess within the village discussing with her friends. He wondered what Inuyasha's reaction to her departure was. He always had taken her for granted, that Sesshomaru knew. It was inevitable for a young woman to go away though if he couldn't decide if he loved her or not. "Pathetic" Sesshomaru spoke lowly as he dropped from his branch to great his half-brother.

"She is not going with you!" Inuyasha growled at him.

"I do not believe, little brother, that your opinion has any worth." Sesshomaru replied emotionlessly.

"What did you do to her you bastard? She would never go away from me!" Inuyasha stubbornly argued.

"This was her sole decision. I had nothing to do with it."

"Liar!"

"I am no such thing." Sesshomaru replied, his left eye twitching. The idiot was calling him a liar? He was the one lying to the priestess about his feelings for her and he would call him a liar? He flexed his claws.

"Then I'll resolve the problem. If I kill you then she won't need to go!" He unsheathed the Tetsusaiga but before he could do anything he was forcefully thrown on a tree, sliding down the trunk. Fisting his hands, he growled. "You want her because you can't protect yourself, you bastard?" Inuyasha dared to say. He gulped as he saw the reaction on Sesshomaru's face but continued anyway. "Don't think I haven't smelled that other demon at the hot spring. You were covered in blood. So you got your ass kicked and saved by that weak human?"

Sesshomaru's eyes bled red. Being criticized, he could take, but no one ever dared to call him weak or even insinuated it. With inhuman speed, even faster than what Inuyasha's senses could perceive, he grabbed the hanyou and hauled him across the clearing, crashing down half a dozen of trees. The hanyou finally landed but before he could even stand up a hand was embedded in his left shoulder. Sesshomaru quickly released some of his poison in the wound and retracted his hand. "Be gone fool." Sesshomaru growled his eyes slowly bleeding red. Inuyasha swallowed his pride and dashed off.

Sesshomaru let out an almost inaudible sigh. "Such trouble this woman is." He would let the idiot live for now. The half-breed was the least of his problems.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER IV

Kagome folded and unfolded her hands as walked out of camp. She had noticed Sesshomaru's aura earlier on in the evening and so she had hurried things up with her friends and advanced her departure. She had hugged one last time her friends Sango and Miroku. She sent one last glance behind her. Inuyasha wasn't back to camp. She sighed and continued her way. Screw the half-demon.

Climbing the hill to the far end of Kaede's village, Kagome noticed the dog demon staring at her. Shippo was skipping behind her, holding onto the bag he had so kindly proposed to carry. He was a strong demon now, and so he proudly carried his mother's stuff, the same backpack he had seen her carrying around for 5 years. It was damn heavy but he would never complain out loud. If a frail woman such as Kagome could carry it on her back for half a day without complaining, he could definitely do it too. He raised his head too and noticed the disapproving look in the demon's face.

Kagome gulped. She had never told Sesshomaru she would bring Shippo with her and obviously the demon lord was not too pleased. Finishing climbing, she didn't wait for his comment and explained herself. "Shippo comes with me wherever I go. He protects me."

Sesshomaru frowned at her but said nothing.

"Besides, Shippo can carry me on his back and thus we'll be moving faster and I won't slow you down…" she ranted but was cut.

"Miko, you need not to explain this to me. As long as the kit doesn't get in the way I shall tolerate him." He glanced at Shippo who gulped. With a feeling of satisfaction for intimidating the younger demon, he spun on his heels and walked away. Youth should be told their places, and surely the kit now knew his.

Kagome sighed in relief and skipped behind Sesshomaru, Shippo on her heels with her yellow backpack.

They had been walking for about an hour and Kagome followed as best as she could with the long stride of the demon lord. She was practically running behind him but she would never dare to ask him to slow the pace. Perhaps he was testing her, she thought. He would test how long she could last with her human body and she would stand up to his test. She would not be the weakling to beg for a break. He would learn that she had quite a strong will.

Unbeknown to her Sesshomaru was indeed pushing her to the limit. He wondered how long the woman would last before finally breaking the silence between the group that had lasted since they left the village at the end of the day. It was now beginning to be dark; the sun was slowly setting behind the trees. He gave one glance behind himself; she was still following though he could sense that she was tired. Her pace was less energetic. Yet, why didn't she ask him to settle for the night? Was it because she was too hard headed to even ask this? Perhaps he would test her will even more. He pushed himself into a longer stride and stoop deeper in the forest.

He was definitely testing her. That self-centered, stupid, arrogant jerk was clearly pushing her to the limit! He had clearly looked back and started walking faster! Kagome wanted to strangle him and his disproportionate ego. Where was he exactly going? She pushed herself to walk at his side, Shippo still following closely behind. Kagome sent a glance behind her to notice that Shippo seemed exhausted. She wasn't going to involve him in their pitiful fight over domination. Not that she remembered why she was acting like that. It was not like Sesshomaru had openly challenged her. She guessed she just felt threatened by his cold and imposing status. Damn her and her rebellious attitude. She should be grateful he would even consider dragging her with him. When she was at his level, she finally broke the silence in the group. "Where are we going?"

Sesshomaru didn't spare her a glance when he finally answered. "We are going to my castle. Rin is awaiting us."

"Is that far away?"

"2 days walk" was the sole reply she got.

"Perhaps we could settle for the night?" She asked, gauging his reaction. Sesshomaru sent a glare her way clearly saying he was annoyed with having to stop for the night. He was a demon, walking through the forest at night was not a problem, but surely it was for Kagome and the last thing she wanted to do was walking blindly in the forest. She trusted Sesshomaru but not THAT much. Even thought Sesshomaru was bothered by the sudden stop for the night, he silently stopped and sat under a tree. He didn't spare the miko or the kit a glance.

Kagome felt both frustrated about Sesshomaru's lack of understanding and happy for overcoming her pride and asking for a stop. Poor Shippo was more than glad to take a break. She plumped in the ground and motioned her now grown-up kit to sit next to her. She rummaged through the heavy bag he had dropped in front of her and took out a sandwich for her and for Shippo. She handed it to him and took a bite of hers. "Mom's sandwiches are the best!" Unbeknown to her friends she had stopped by her house during the day to pack up food. She knew Sesshomaru would not chase food for her and on the other side she wasn't sure she wanted to eat some kind of strange demonic meat he would bring back.

"They sure are." Shippo agreed while biting down in his own ham and cheese 'classic' sandwich. These were Shippo's favourite for a very long time and he never seemed to get tired of the taste.

Kagome had brought for about 4 days of supply for herself and Shippo. She had expected to travel a little bit more before arriving to destination. Due to lack of refrigeration and the quite hot weather in this early summer, she had mostly brought ramen and non-perishable food for the rest of the travel. She then wondered. What had she gotten herself into? She was traveling around with the stoic lord who was as considerate as an ice cube. She admitted though that she liked it. She liked the challenge of adaptation and the feeling of the unknown. Thank Inuyasha for dragging her around so many dangers during their travel, she ended up being thrilled by it. Then again, she had dragged Shippo into this. She didn't quite feel well about making such a big change in their lifestyle habit. Shippo locked eyes with her as he noticed his adoptive mother was looking at him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I didn't really think it through at first." Kagome apologized. She had not even explained to the kit why they were following the Western land lord.

Shippo laughed. "You don't have to apologize, mother. This is vacation from Inuyasha for me." He was joined in his laughed by the young priestess.

"I suppose it is. You have been fighting a lot lately." She stated.

"I hate him for making you suffer." Shippo spoke in a dark voice. He clenched his tiny fist in anger.

"You don't have to hate him for that, Shippo. He can't make his mind so I decided I would help him out in his decision." She explained while putting an arm on his shoulder. "You know, it has been a harsh decision, but it had to be made. Else I would have never been able to move away from him."

"I know… it's just that he never deserved you. He didn't even know you were training and becoming stronger. He didn't pay attention to you like he should have." Shippo lowered his head. "But you loved him. And he didn't love you back like he should have."

"My little Shippo" she ruffled his orange hair. "I love you, you know that? You are my little boy."

"I love you too, mother." He became strict and took an authoritarian tone. "Get some rest, we'll travel fast tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!" Kagome quickly settled her stuff to sleep which consisted of a folded cover and covered herself with another one. She sat up and ruffled one last time her child's hair and kissed him on the forehead. "You get some rest too, my little boy." She quickly turned on her side, her head resting on her arm and drifted slowly to sleep.

Sesshomaru, who had been listening passively to the conversation, was intrigued. She had called the kit her son? How was that even possible? Clearly she wasn't his mother and this for many reasons. When he was sure the miko had gone to sleep, he spoke to the fox demon. "What is your relationship with the miko?" He spoke aloud, and watched with some amusement as the kit jumped.

Shippo was taken aback both from the fact that the lord and talked to him and the question he asked. "She is my mother." He answered as he moved to sit face to him.

"Clearly, fox demon, she is not. I am sure I do not have to point out the reasons why." He replied to the kid.

"She is my mother because she adopted me. My parents were killed by thunder demons, she only ever wanted of me. That is all." Shippo crossed his arms around his chest. Talking about this sure brought up painful memories. "This is why I will protect her no matter what."

Sesshomaru didn't answer to it and he took off his attention from the kit. He admired the miko though. Going to such extents to raise a child that was not her own. A demon child added on top of it. Many humans would have taken the chance to eradicate the child while it was still inoffensive. She did not. This was quite honourable.

Shippo didn't follow his mother's orders for this night though. He didn't want to sleep. Not that he needed to sleep every night anyway. He didn't trust the older demon. And so he decided to watch over his mother and both demons didn't sleep for the night, gauging each other for a reaction. When morning came, no word was spoken to the priestess and it seemed like a usual morning for her.

Kagome woke up early in the morning; the sun was barely rising in the sky. She knew though that the lord would want to leave early. She packed the blankets in her backpack and took out two granola bars. She threw one in Shippo's direction and kept one for herself. She was ready to go. Shippo rapidly finished his bar and was beside her, transforming into a beautiful orange fox big enough to be shoulder to shoulder with the miko. The tip of his bushy tail was white, giving him a cute look. This was his new transformation. He had evolved since his childhood where he transformed into that giant pink balloon. This was faster and definitely less showy. Kagome happily threw the backpack over her shoulder and as Shippo lowered himself, she climbed on his back. "Thanks Shippo." She muttered as she scratched him behind the ears. Shippo gave out a small whimper. That was definitely his weak spot. He just loved when his mother scratched him there.

Sesshomaru watched with unshown envy the kit. He knew very well what that felt being scratched there. How long as it been since he actually was scratched behind the ears in his other form by someone. It had been a very long time. Then again, it was not like a strong and powerful demon to be scratched. Likely he would kill anyone trying to do so. Yet, right know he wished he was at the kit's place. He would find a way to be scratched too… later on. He quickly averted his eyes from the two, summoned his cloud and sped through the forest, followed by the fox demon carrying the miko. Now it would go faster and they would make it probably by tomorrow morning.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER V

The sun was slowly hidden behind the trees when they finally made a stop. They had travelled all day long and needless to say that Kagome was sweaty and quite a mess. Shippo wasn't very good looking either, panting heavily from the effort of running all day long after the lord, carrying a miko on his back. The temperature must have gone higher than the 30 degrees as from Kagome internal thermometer, and the simple fact of thinking was enough to make her sweat. She needed a bath, desperately. She sent a dirty glance that got unnoticed toward the lord who looked as fresh as if he had been relaxing all day long. 'The ice-ass bastard' she told herself. 'He's too damn frigid to even get hot in this weather!' She angrily fumbled into her backpack. She finally closed it and threw it over her shoulder. "Shippo, is there any lake around where I can freshen up?"

Shippo, who had reverted back to his humanoid form, looked at her from where he was laying on the grass. "I think I smelled something this way." Shippo pointed in a direction. "It's not too far away."

"Thank you Shippo!" She kissed her son on the forehead and was granted by a mumble of the young fox kit. "You keep watch here for any pervert who would spy on me."

"Understood!" Shippo took the military pose Kagome had thought him one day when she had mocked Inuyasha. The hanyou was ordering her around and so she had mocked him for acting like a sergeant. The pose the fox kit took made her laugh which got the attention of the demon lord who cracked an eye open to look at the duo.

He could not understand what she found so funny, which, of course, frustrated him, and so he closed his eyes again and concentrated on the surrounding auras. He then cracked an eye open again. They weren't referring HIM as a pervert were they? They were apparently the only ones here and so…

"Miko, are you referring to me as a pervert?" the demon lord growled.

Kagome mocked him with a small smile and a hand over her mouth. "I was not particularly referring to you as a pervert, but if you feel concerned…" With feigned courtesy, she made a small bow and spinned on her heels to walk away. She soon disappeared between the trees.

"Annoying human" Sesshomaru growled. He saw from the corner of his eyes the kit frown at him but ignored it. He settled himself in a more comfortable position, crossed his legs and closed his eyes again to scan the area. Nothing. Great.

Kagome walked for a little 10 minutes, looking at her watch from time to time. It seemed like she had been walking forever. It was already 8:25pm but it didn't look like the air was going to freshen up any time soon. She sighed for the millionth time. Where was the damn river/lake Shippo had smelled? She was about to look at her watch again when her foot caught into a root and she almost fell face first in the grass. She held on to a tree and her gaze fell on the beautiful scenery. The lake Shippo had smelled was deep blue and inviting to the miko. Kagome squealed in delight as she ran over to the edge and quickly changed into her bathing suit. She quickly dove into the fresh water and swam for a couple of meter. Ducking her head underwater, she felt it's coldness against her face. It was so refreshing! When she was a little 50 meters from the shore, she stopped and closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing. There it was, the time she hated the most when she was meditating. The water element. She quickly dove underwater, her eyes still closed, holding her breath and she concentrated. She could already feel the presence swimming around her. A presence not of this world.

"You have come back." A feminine voice stated in her mind. It was still swimming lazily around her.

"I have." Kagome responded as calm as she could.

"Why?"

Something scaly touched her feet but she tried to pay it no mind. It was the spirit, she knew that for sure. She had panicked the few first times. Humans are born with an instinct, and the fear of what she couldn't see roaming the underwater was enough to freak her out. Even now, she couldn't repress the fear installing in her. "I want to be in communion with the water element."

"Humph, do not get cocky, human." The beautiful voice replied to her and she was touched again by the scaly flesh. "You still reek of fear of the under."

"I want to control this fear."

"You cannot be in communion with what you fear. You know what you need to do to acquire this power." The fish seemed to swim away from her, Kagome felt the vibrations less and less. "You haven't even seen my form yet."

"Can I?" Kagome asked in her mind, reaching the presence leaving the space. There was a silence. 'Did she leave?' Kagome thought to herself. Her lungs were on fire, she needed to breath.

"You will see my form when I deem you worthy of it." With those words the presence was gone.

Kagome quickly swam toward the above and took a good gulp of air. She swam there for some time, panting heavily. Each time she did this she ended up a few seconds from dying of asphyxia. She let herself fall backward and on her back still trying to catch her breath. Like this, her eyes looking at the sky, she thought about what the spirit had said. What she needed to do. Kagome knew all too well what she needed to do. She was reluctant to do it though, just like anyone would. That was why she wasn't in communion with any of the 4 spirits she had contacted: water, fire, wind and earth.

Kagome was about to swim back to the shore when she felt something. It wasn't the spirit. The female spirit didn't seem to like her one bit and so this is why she hated to have to visit her. That had the fact she needed to hold her breath for the entire discussion. No, this time it was different. It seemed familiar, like a pull she had felt before. It was just like when she felt the Shikon shards! But that was impossible, right? The Shikon No Tama was safe inside her body – they couldn't make a wish that wasn't selfish and so the best option was for Kagome to keep it safe. She had not told Inuyasha about it and just pretended that she had destroyed the thing when he wasn't there. No, this wasn't the Jewel shards. It was something else. Keeping her senses in alert, she swam all the way back to the shore and extended her senses. It was somewhere in the middle, Kagome could only guess, by the faint pulling she could sense, that it was deep in the water, probably at the bottom of the lake. She sighed. "Oh God, forgive my curiosity." She thought to herself. She rummaged into her backpack and took out a pair of goggles. At least she would know where she was going. She swam toward the middle of the lake, and when she felt the pull was the strongest she stopped. Taking a deep breath, she prayed for not falling on a carnivorous demon fish – or something in that line – and ducked into the water, swimming vigorously toward the bottom. Perhaps it took a minute to swim to the bottom of the lake, but to Kagome it felt like 10 minutes had passed. She was glad she had brought her goggles from home, she could see around her. She could already see the rocky bottom of the water and with a quick look found what she was searching. A shimmering blue light was emerging from between two rocks. Kagome quickly made her way toward it and grabbed it without a look, she wouldn't last long with the supply of oxygen she had left. She swam as quickly as she could toward the surface. Her lungs were on fire, she was fighting with all her might with her breathing reflex. When she thought she would die, her vision getting blurry, she was grabbed by something – or rather someone? – and brought back to the surface with incredible speed. Kagome opened her eyes to see a marvellous creature beside her, pushing her toward the surface. The water spirit, a beautiful woman-fish. In her time, they called these creature mermaids and that was exactly what the spirit looked like. Beautiful orange hair, the upper half of her whitish body exposed, and a pink fish tail pushing them toward the surface. Kagome broke the surface of the lake right before she lost consciousness and choked on her first intake of air. She stayed there, trying her best to catch her breath, the feeling making her dizzy. That was stupid of her to not think about keeping air before getting that stupid glowing thing. She was still holding it in the palm of her hand. It was not glowing anymore, a beautiful deep blue shard that resembled a sapphire. It was the first time she saw that shard. She kept it secured in her hand as she searched the water for the spirit. It was gone. Finding some strength left, Kagome swam toward the shore, puzzled as to why the water spirit would save her.

Walking back to camp, Kagome took a look at the piece of jewel she was holding in her hand. She had kept ahold of it while she had absently rummaged through her backpack and changed into clothing. She had no idea where that thing could come from and why she had never sensed it before. She examined it closely all the while being careful not to trip on some branch and fall face first. There was nothing special about the shard. It did not seem to hold any power - or perhaps it did not react to hers like the Shikon used to - and yet it had called to her. Weird. Shrugging her shoulders, she decided she would investigate the problem of the shard later on. Now, there was another matter: the water spirit had saved her. She sighed. She had no idea why the beautiful creature would even land a hand to help her. She more had the impression that she would be left to die of asphyxia. 'I have to ask her.' Kagome convinced herself. She would do it when she would get the opportunity. Now was not the time as she knew she needed to rest until tomorrow. The forest was already getting very dark as her only mean to retrieving her companions was to concentrate on their aura.

* * *

Kagome emerged into the camp and was greeted by a very happy Shippo. "Mother! What took you so long?" he asked worriedly.

"I meditated for a little while." Kagome answered as she plumped on her blanket and covered herself with it. She was exhausted.

"I hate when you do that." Shippo muttered but it was caught by his mother.

"I know, sweetheart, but it is necessary." She rolled over and fell asleep without any further ceremony, the jewel secured inside her pocket.

Shippo still muttered to himself. "I still hate it. I fear you will die someday." He sat near his mother and held her hand. It was cold. Sighing, he kept both her hands in his to heat them up at least a little.

Sesshomaru felt something different when the miko came back to camp. There was something new with her but he could not put his finger on it. It was like a pull - or rather some sort of attraction - he felt toward her. He was obvious that the miko could not have changed that much in an hour so that he would feel 'attracted' to her. There was something else. He tried to push the thought aside for now. Perhaps he would try to extract some information from her later on.

* * *

Yet, since the miko had not spoken about the object she had found down the lake, Sesshomaru was kept in the dark concerning this new and strange feeling.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER VI

The next morning seemed to be an usual one for both Kagome and Shippo. Shippo, totally unaware of the new jewel Kagome had found, did as usual and transformed into his demonic form, a fox. Sesshomaru, on the other side, could not help but notice that the feeling had not left him and it annoyed him beyond his tolerance level. If it kept up, he would kill something - or rather someone - as it seemed SHE was the one hitting on his nerves. He ignored his two new comrades and dashed off to the castle followed closely by the fox kid that struggled to keep up the pace, carrying the miko on his back. After some time, they were already able to see the outlines of the Japanese style castle, a marvellous beauty for the eyes.

"That is beautiful!" Kagome exclaimed as she shielded her eyes with her hand to see better. Sesshomaru said nothing and continued his way. 'Icy bastard' Kagome said to herself. 'He could have said something.' Shippo continued his way, following the lord and within and matter of minutes they were standing in front of the large doors. Two guards bowed their heads in respect at their approach and opened the large double doors which led them to the inside gardens. Kagome and Shippo followed silently; Shippo had reverted back to his humanoid form, letting Kagome walk for a little. He grabbed his mother's hand and followed close by. It wasn't very long before a little girl with a yellow kimono stepped out of the castle to great them. She wore a ponytail on the side and arbored a toothy grin. "You must be Rin." Kagome greeted her. "It has been a while I have seen you."

Rin first looked at Kagome with an interrogative face. It wasn't like Sesshomaru to bring humans back to the castle. In fact he had NEVER, while she had been living there, brought a human in the castle. She believed she was indeed the only one he had brought in. Then, she recognized the priestess she had met before. "Kagome-sama!" She exclaimed and hugged the other female.

"Took you long enough to recognize me!" Kagome laughed as she ruffled the girl's hair and gave her a hug too. "I missed you, Rin, I am glad to see you again."

"Rin too!" It didn't take too long before Rin noticed a small shadow hiding behind the priestess. She peeked and saw a young and blushing fox demon clung to Kagome's clothes. She blinked once in interrogation. She had never met this person before.

Noticing the little girl's interrogation toward her son, Kagome quickly grabbed Shippo and pushed him in front of her. "This is Shippo. He is my son." She said with a smile.

Shippo blushed even redder than he could have thought possible before letting out a timid "Hi".

Rin, against all odds, began to pout. "Why he only is your son! Rin wants to be your daughter too!" She whined which got Kagome caught off guard. Even Shippo was in shock.

"This might pose a possible difficulty, I fear." Kagome said, looking at Sesshomaru for help. Her plead was not answered as the lord walked away.

Seeing Sesshomaru walk away, Rin skipped behind him. "It is not a problem!" She chirped. "Kagome and Shippo can live here with Rin and Sesshomaru!"

Kagome sweatdropped. There was NO way she was going to live here. And as much as she loved Rin, there was no way she was playing mother and daughter with Sesshomaru's ward. She would likely get killed before the end of the week. Kagome and Shippo looked at each other and sweatdropped. Things had just gotten more complicated right?

* * *

"Inuyasha, where have you been!?" Sango anything but yelled after him when the hanyou finally dared to show up after 2 days of remarked absence.

"Why the hell do you even care?" He yelled back at her. "I could have been dead and you two would still be standing there kissing all day long!"

"SIT" she yelled.

Inuyasha snorted at her. "Feh! Like hell you could..." WHAM! A huge crater was made with Inuyasha's form. "You bitch! How are you even able to do that?" He yelled from the hole, trying to pull himself up.

"SIT" She said again. "Of course, Kagome would not leave us in your presence without any mean of controlling your delinquent behaviour! What do you take us for?"

"My what?" a yell emerged from the crater.

"Your idiocy, your bad temper, your stupidity, and your brainless, arrogant and jerky attitude. THIS is what I mean!" Sango replied.

"Like hell you'll sit me any time you want. I'm getting Kagome back! At least she's not as much of a bitch as you are." His last reply got him another 'SIT' from Sango.

"If you ask me, Kagome is far better where she actually is." Sango replied. Miroku nodded in acknowledgement.

"Oh yeah? How do you explain that my bastard half-brother attacked and almost killed me the evening she left? I spent the last 2 days healing my poisoned wound!"

"He what?" Sango asked. Her tone had changed. Worry was slowly stepping into her mind.

"You heard me!" Inuyasha quickly jumped out of his hole and showed the couple the scar on his left shoulder. Surely the humans would believe him. He had omitted to mention that he was the first to attack, but retrieving Kagome was priority number one for now. He would not allow for his wretched half-brother to get her. Kagome was his only and as long as he could not make up his mind, she would remain by his side. It was after all, the best situation for him. He had both Kikyo and Kagome and since choosing was way too complicated, he'd keep them both. The dead, after all, could not bear children. And like any man from this era, Inuyasha wished, at some point, to have his own descendants.

"Perhaps we should see if she is alright?" Sango nervously told Miroku which in turn, placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Kagome-sama does need us to trust her decisions..." he was though cut up by his new wife.

"What if she is in danger? I could never forgive myself if she gets hurt!"

"Kagome-sama is resourceful. More than we actually think."

Sango bit down on her lower lip. "I just want to see if she's alright, that's all..." She folded and unfolded her hands in worry.

"Let us see if we can retrieve her trace. Perhaps we can just drop by and say hi if that makes you happy." Miroku proposed as a solution.

"Perhaps we should..." She did not finish her sentence that Kilala transformed into her larger form and Sango hopped on. Miroku climbed behind her, motioning to Inuyasha to follow which did not go unnoticed by the hanyou.

At last they were moving their sorry asses up, Inuyasha thought.

* * *

"So... Where should we be going?" Kagome asked bluntly as she and her adopted son stood in the middle of a corridor, completely lost.

"Why do you ask me?" Shippo asked, feigning surprise.

"Because you have the nose. Find the way to the kitchen or something." She muttered to herself still looking around to find her direction sense. 'Useless. I have no sense of direction at all...' she told herself. Her stomach growled in protest for being ignored during the past hour and a half.

Of course Shippo heard his mother's reply and whined. "I'm just a kid! Don't expect me to be sniffing around the ground like Inuyasha! I have more pride than that." He finished the last part with a mutter which, in this case, got unnoticed by his mother.

"Then, we shall base our decisions on logic!" Kagome clapped her hands together in excitement. "Since lost people always tend to turn right to find their way out, that is what we'll do!"

"What kind of logic is that?" Shippo asked, wondering about the seriousness of the theory.

"This is hundred years of compiled knowledge!" Kagome chirped.

"Mother, you are but 19."

"Transmitted knowledge I meant!" She grabbed her son's hand and walked toward her right, turned right at the corner, turned right again at the other corner and continued walking in a long corridor.

"Mother, wouldn't turning always right mean we are walking in circle?" Shippo asked, skipping behind his mother.

"Nope. Unless of course this castle is made in a definite pattern meant to lose their careless inhabitants which, in this case, is not totally stupid of an idea."

"We are still lost then?" Shippo asked, still following his mother's fast pace.

"I have hope that at some point, if we continue walking, we'll meet up with someone."

"Hope? If we base ourselves on hope, we're already dead." Shippo mumbled.

"Stop being such as pessimist!" His mother laughed. "This is fun, it's like finding our way out of a labyrinth!"

"I don't find it 'fun'" Shippo whined.

"Oh come on!" She pulled him some more until she was face to face with doors. "Oh, a dead end." She looked at the writings on the door but it did not resemble any writing she knew. "You can read that Shippo?" She asked.

Shippo finally catching up to his mother read carefully the writing and shook his head. "Nope. I have never seen this."

"Let's pretend it's written 'food' and go in!" Kagome chirped and pulled on her son's hand. Obviously, as she pushed the doors open and stepped in, she realized that it was not a restaurant. The double door led directly into a library. "That's nice!" Kagome chirped as she grabbed a random book on the shelf. She opened it and flipped the pages. "I can't read this thing." She said as she flipped some more pages carefully. The book looked pretty old.

Shippo grabbed his mother's leg "Let's get out of here!" he said as he scanned the library. The place was dark and definitely uninviting. How could his mother not realize that they probably should not be there?

Kagome's eyes grew bigger in shock. "I think we have just discovered Sesshomaru's family secret!" She whispered to Shippo. Shippo glanced over the book. He noticed, despite the fact that he could not read the language, the images that were pretty revealing. Silent killing strategies. Assassination.

"I suppose then that you know too much and I should eliminate you." A masculine voice resonated in the library. It was, without contest, Sesshomaru's. He was sitting on a cushion a few shelves away from them.

"What are you talking about?" Kagome innocently said as she hid the book behind her back. "This is a cooking book!" she laughed nervously. "I was simply surprised that your family would be cooks!" She let out another nervous laugh.

"Miko, I could not care less about you reading these books. And this is not a family secret as everyone is aware of the Taisho's long history." He stated as a matter of fact. Indeed, in the castle and within the lords, everyone knew of the Taisho's great assassination talents - that had obviously been passed down to him. "My sole interrogation was the reason of your presence here."

Kagome, while placing the book back on the shelf, responded calmly and with what was left of her dignity. "We were lost."

"The kit got lost?" the great lord mocked while glancing at the demon kid.

Shippo, in response, crossed his arms and pouted. Kagome smiled sheepishly. "I think we both got lost."

"Pathetic" He raised onto his feet and walked out, motioning them to follow him. Kagome's eyebrow twitched in annoyance for being called pathetic but she said nothing. The last thing she wanted was to be left here to die, completely lost. Sesshomaru walked around the castle, making sure the girl and the kit were lost again and then stepped in front of their room. He did not need to have them step into his library once more. When he needed to be left alone, this is where he was going. Barely anyone ever found this room so he found very amazing that the two of them had stumble upon it out of sheer luck. He would make sure they did not find it again and perhaps put a lock on it - he did not need to have other curious visitors reading his books. "This is where you will be sleeping." He slid open the Shoji door and let the two step inside.

"This is beautiful!" Kagome exclaimed as she stepped inside. She gazed at the two beds. One for herself and one for Shippo. She turned around but the lord was already gone. "This stupid antisocial, self-centered jerk." Kagome mumbled. Shippo was beside her and paled.

"Miko, I am standing right behind you." Was heard which made Kagome jump.

"How did you get there?!" She exclaimed, a hand on her chest to stop her racing heart. It was the second time today that she had not felt his presence with her powers.

"Miko, do not believe that it is easy to assassinate with an aura that demons can flair from hundreds of kilometers."

"And so?" Kagome inquired

"I can make myself more discrete, shall I say." He walked away from them. Kagome let out a soft sigh in relief. "Miko do not believe that I am done with you. You will pay for insulting this Sesshomaru." he said which got Kagome cringing.

Kagome turned toward Shippo. "Mommy, I wonder how you always get yourself into trouble." Shippo said while shaking his head. He knew that demons held grudges and that Sesshomaru was most likely to find the right way to punish his mother's behaviour. Not that he was going to kill her. It would be utterly stupid to bring Kagome all the way to here to kill her on the first instance. Oh well, he would let the adults bicker on their own and mind his own business which were already complicated. There was that girl...

* * *

On the next morning, Kagome's stomach grumbled loudly as she painfully opened her eyes. Sun was bathing the room. Shippo was still sleeping on the cushion next to hers and so she tried to make no noise as she reached out for her bag. Nothing. Oh right, she had eaten in her room yesterday - mostly because she did not want to lose her way again in the giant building - and basically emptied the bag. She mentally sighed and decided to explore around a little to get more familiar with the surroundings... and also to find food. So, she dressed up as quietly as possible and as she headed for the door, she did the same as everyone does when trying to be silent, she hit her toes on the door frame. Not only did it make a big noise, but the miko let out a string of curses as she leaned on the door frame with tears forming in her eyes.

"Mommy, you are as loud as a pack of demon bulls." Shippo mumbled from his bed. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Even your stomach grumbling could have woken up the dead."

Kagome, still leaning on the door frame in pain, replied sheepishly. "I'm hungry"

"That I noticed." He got up, dressed quickly and, still half-asleep, he stood beside her. "I'll come with you. Just in case you get yourself into trouble again."

"I'll behave I promise!" She stood outside of the room, scanned the area with her eyes but found nothing. She could, though, feel that there was some kind of activity going on in the castle as she could sense demonic auras moving around. There was no Sesshomaru to be sensed though. 'The bastard is hiding.' She said out loud... in her head. He could be standing behind her for all she knew. Out of pure instinct, she looked behind her. No one. Good. She proceeded in making her way toward where the most activity was going on. She would likely find someone and get some indications as where the kitchen was. Shippo followed closely behind. It wasn't very long before they met with a very young and beautiful demon girl walking around with laundry. "Sorry, I happen to be searching for the kitchen." Kagome asked politely as she made eye contact with the demoness. The demoness looked at her with horrified eyes and ran off, dropping a white piece of cloth. "Huh?" Kagome blinked. She turned to Shippo "Did I say something wrong?"

Shippo shrugged his shoulder. "How would I know?"

"The word went out pretty fast that the demon lord brought back a woman in the castle." Kagome turned around. There was an orange-haired demon leaning on the wall behind them.

Kagome cursed in her mind for not sensing the demon within this area overfilled by auras. She then blinked more when she processed what he said. "You make it sound like we're together or something."

The man grinned. "That what everyone thinks. The lord never brings women here."

Kagome blushed and put her hands in front of her. "We are DEFINITELY NOT together."

"I know"

"You know?" Kagome dropped her hands.

"It's my job to know." He pointed toward the end of the hallway. "Kitchen is this way. You can't miss it."

"Thanks!" Kagome chirped as her stomach made another growl. She blushed, ashamed, as the demon man let out a small grin.

When the woman went away, he noticed the child following her. "Kit" he called "You are a fox demon, are you not?" Shippo jumped and turned toward him and nodded slowly. "I happen to be one too. If you are interested, I can train you in the way of our clan." He paused. "You must be lacking this kind of training." Shippo's eye went bigger as he nodded in excitement which did not go unnoticed by Kagome.

"Our room is this way." She pointed toward a random way. She had no freaking idea where her room was. "You just come when you have time." She smiled. "Shippo will surely be glad to experience a different sort of training." Shippo nodded in acknowledgement and followed after his mother toward the kitchen.

Finally, Kagome and Shippo made their way to the kitchen. Smelling the wonderful aromas, they stepped in and were greeted by a whole bunch of demons who became dead silent upon her arrival. Kagome sweatdropped and made a few steps inside. This was getting really embarrassing. "Kagome-sama!" A cry emerged from the crowd. It was Rin, sitting in the back of the room, at what it seemed as a large private table. Relieved, Kagome made her way toward the young human.

"Can I sit with you?" She asked sheepishly. It did seem like Rin had special favour from Sesshomaru and since it did seem like it was a private table, she guessed it was Sesshomaru's and so...

"Of course you can! Shippo too!" She chirped and looked at the fox demon who blushed. Kagome made a mental note that Shippo was blushing a lot around the human girl. Could it be that he had a crush? She mentally smirked. "Sesshomaru-sama did not come for breakfast and so Rin was alone. Rin is glad to have you both with her."

Before Kagome could say a thing, there was food in front of her. How the hell it got there, she did not know, but she did not care. She dived in, tasting the wonderful food. Shippo ate silently beside her, sparing glances across the table.

All of a sudden, Kagome's attention level spiked. There was something going on. Instinctively, she used her chopsticks as weapons as she raised her arm above her head, chopsticks turned toward her aggressor as she felt claws around her neck. "Human if you ever so as think of moving, I will kill you." She knew this voice and replied heads on.

"Demon, if you ever so as move, I will be glad to provide you with a new hole to breath from." Her chopsticks were resting on his throat as such as with a swift movement and good precision, the demon would end up with a new hole in his body. With satisfaction, she felt the demon ponder upon her words and back up. He stood behind her and Kagome could appreciate the masculine features of Sesshomaru's older brother from over her shoulder. He frowned.

"What are you doing here, human?"

"It's Kagome, not human."

"I could not care less about your name, human" he replied

"I could not care less about your question, demon." she replied back, ticked off but still containing herself as to look as arrogant as him. A growl was all she got as the demon sat down a few seats further at the table. "I told you before that I don't understand when you bark at me like that." Kagome snapped at him a little louder. The room went dead silent as people turned their head toward them.

"Human, you truly have a death wish." Inuryomaru threatened her.

Kagome smirked. "Who me? If I recall, you got your butt kicked last time we met."

It was Rin who sensed the tense area and decided to change the attention from the miko to herself. Inuryomaru's eye was twitching with anger. "Inuryomaru-sama, you must behave when at the table!" she scowled him which got him to look at her with a startled face. Even Kagome puffed in laugher because of his shock.

"You are right, Rin, we both misbehaved in from of you. I'm sorry sweetheart." She ruffled the young girl's hair as she began digging again in her food, ignoring the demon sitting in front of her. He eyed her warily as food was brought to him faster than Kagome's eyes could perceive. Both ignoring each other, they ate silently which got Rin sighing, discouraged by the adult's behaviour. "And what exactly are you doing here?" Kagome asked nonchalantly to the demon.

"I recall you have not answered my question. I see no interest in answering yours." Was the sneaky reply she got.

"Sesshomaru invited me here. That is all." She still paid no attention to him as she kept eating. The food was amazingly delicious.

"I live here." That surely got Kagome choking on her food.

"You what?" She managed to say between two chokes.

"Do not make me repeat" he growled.

"You two live together and did not manage to kill yourselves yet, I am truly amazed." She replied sarcastically. She was deliberately ignored. Smirking, she stood up and bowed. "Rin, how about we go play outside a little?" The little girl squealed in delight before running away and motioning for Kagome to follow her which she promptly did. There was no way she would be able to find her way to the gardens on her own. Shippo silently followed.

* * *

"I see you two met again." Sesshomaru guessed as his brother precipitately stomped into his study.

"Get this insufferable woman out of this castle!" the older demon growled at him defensively.

"Know your place, Inuryomaru!" Sesshomaru growled too. "You are in no position of power to order me."

"Why did you bring her here?"

"I do as I wish, and in this case, if this woman can get me rid of you, that is quite fine with me."

"Surely you did not bring her here for THAT, so explain yourself." Tension was clearly rising.

"I owe you no explanation." Sesshomaru motioned his brother to take off. "You may leave, I have no use for you here." Sesshomaru was answered by a door slamming behind a furious dog demon. He massaged his temples. Was it really such a good idea to bring the girl here? She might pose some sort of problem. He needed to wait some more, just the time for her to regrow his arm. After that, she was definitely out of his castle.


End file.
